Injured Gazans Being Treated in Israeli Hospitals

Doctors and aid agencies use ceasefire to transport most seriously-injured Gazans to hospitals in Jerusalem, Nazareth.

Contact Editor

AFP and Arutz Sheva Staff, 07/08/14 13:51

At least 90 wounded Gazans have been transfer

Flash 90

Doctors and aid agencies are trying to capitalize on a truce in Gaza to evacuate more wounded Palestinians for life-saving medical treatment in Israel and Jordan.

More than 9,500 Palestinians were wounded during four weeks of fighting between Israel and Hamas, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.

Ninety of some of the most serious cases have been evacuated through the Erez border crossing since the conflict began, according to Guy Inbar, spokesman for COGAT which is part of the Israeli defence ministry.

He said the wounded had been sent to Israel and Jordan from an Israeli field hospital at Erez.

Medics and the Red Crescent told AFP that two patients were sent to the Arab Israeli town of Nazareth and dozens of others to three hospitals in Jerusalem.

"We are trying to use the 72-hour ceasefire to get more cases from Gaza to ease the pressure there," says Dr Maher Deeb, head of St Joesph's hospital.

His hospital is treating 25 Gazans evacuated by aid agencies in coordination with Israel, which has also set up a medical unit at Erez.

"We're working round the clock. Fifty percent of the cases are critical. Even the stable cases are complicated and need long-term treatment," Deeb tells AFP.

Most of those sent to his hospital have multiple injuries from missile and rocket attacks, he says.

Deeb's hospital also received wounded Gazans during Israel's previous operations in Gaza in 2008 and 2012, but this time there have been more patients.

"We had these cases before but we have a larger quantity and of a more complicated nature than before," he said.